Anchoring assembly for scaffolding bracket and method of use thereof

ABSTRACT

A method of suspending scaffolding brackets which includes a first step of securing to a structure, lengths of resilient material having a load rating sufficient to support the scaffolding brackets to be suspended. A second step involves attaching each of the scaffolding brackets to one of the lengths of resilient material.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application claims benefit of Canadian Patent ApplicationSerial No. 2,595,282, filed 22 Jun. 2007 and entitled Method ofsuspending scaffolding brackets and scaffolding brackets suspended inaccordance with the method, the contents of which are hereinincorporated by reference in their entirety.

FIELD

The present invention relates to an anchoring assembly, a method ofsuspending scaffolding brackets and scaffolding brackets suspended inaccordance with the teachings of the method. More specifically, thepresent technology relates to an anchoring assembly that compriseslengths of resilient material and attachment members. The technologyprovides for a readily adaptable and disposable anchoring assembly.

BACKGROUND

U.S. Pat. No. 4,971,169 (Frith); U.S. Pat. No. 5,503,358 (Lapp); U.S.Pat. No. 6,003,631 (Knauth); U.S. Pat. No. 6,886,662 (Riley) and U.S.Pat. No. 6,945,358 (Albano) are all examples of wall supportedscaffolding. In each of these patents, scaffolding brackets are providedwith an anchoring assembly by which the scaffolding brackets aresuspended from a wall. The anchoring assembly typically involves a hook,clamp or anchor plate.

SUMMARY

There is provided an anchoring assembly comprising lengths of resilientmaterial having a load rating sufficient to support scaffolding. Amethod of suspending scaffolding brackets which includes a first step ofsecuring to a structure, lengths of strapping having a load ratingsufficient to support the scaffolding brackets to be suspended is alsoprovided. A second step involves attaching each of the scaffoldingbrackets to one of the lengths of strapping.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

These and other features will become more apparent from the followingdescription in which reference is made to the appended drawings, thedrawings are for the purpose of illustration only and are not intendedto in any way limit the scope of the invention to the particularembodiment or embodiments shown, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a scaffolding bracket suspended inaccordance with the teachings of the present method.

FIG. 2 is a detailed perspective view of a scaffolding bracket suspendedfrom a masonry wall by strapping in accordance with the teachings of thepresent method.

FIG. 3 is a side elevation view, in section, of the masonry wall withstrapping illustrated in FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a detailed perspective view of a scaffolding bracket suspendedfrom a wooden wall by strapping in accordance with the teachings of thepresent method.

FIG. 5 is a side elevation view, in section, of the wooden wall withstrapping illustrated in FIG. 4

FIG. 6 is a side elevation view, in section, of a clamping member whichis a variant for attaching a length of strapping to a scaffoldingbracket.

FIG. 7 is a side elevation view, in section, of a karalbiner attachmentmember which is a variant of an attachment member used to attach loopsof strapping to a scaffolding bracket.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

An anchoring assembly and method of suspending scaffolding bracketsusing the assembly will now be described with reference to FIG. 1through 7. The anchoring assembly consists of lengths of resilientmaterial, preferably lengths of strapping 14, and attachment members,such as a pin 20 and cotter pill 26 combination, staples, nails orclamps, for example, but not limited to.

Referring to FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, as well as FIG. 4 and FIG. 5, the methodconsists of a first step of securing to a structure (such as wall 12),lengths of strapping 14 having a load rating sufficient to support ascaffolding bracket 16 to be suspended. A second step involves attachingscaffolding bracket 16 to length of strapping 14. It will be appreciatedthat a scaffolding installation will always involve more than onescaffolding bracket 16, each of which will be attached in a similarmanner. There are various ways in which scaffolding bracket 16 may beattached to length of strapping 14. It is preferred that each length ofstrapping 14 be formed into a loop 18. This enables scaffolding bracket16 to be attached to loop 18 by inserting an attachment member (such aspin 20) through loop 18. Pin 20 has a head 22, which engages a verticalsupport 24 of scaffolding bracket 16 to prevent its removal in a firstdirection. A cotter pin 26 is inserted through an aperture 28 of pin 20,to prevent its removal in a second direction. Referring to FIG. 1,vertical support 24 may have part of an outer face 27 tapered off nearthe end of support 24 that strapping 14 attaches to. Face 27 is the sideof vertical support 24 that is positioned parallel to, but not facing,wall 12. In addition, the sides adjacent to face 27 may be tapered alongwith face 27 to allow space for pin 20 to be easily inserted throughloop 18. When suspended in accordance with the method, the installationwith scaffolding brackets 16 secured to strapping 14 will appear asshown in FIG. 1. It will be understood that in addition to verticalsupport 24, scaffolding bracket 16 will include a support surface 29,railings 31, a horizontal frame 33 and railing supports 35 that providea measure of fall protection. Support surface 29 provides a space forworkers to stand. Horizontal frame 33 projects horizontally fromvertical supports 24, providing structural integrity for supportingsupport surface 29. Railing supports 35 have stirrups 37, railingsupports 35 projecting vertically from the corners of frame 33. Stirrups37 are provided to hold railings 31 in place between railing supports35, giving scaffolding bracket 16 structural rigidity and strength. Byrigidly securing railings 31, vertical supports 24 are held squareagainst wall 12. In addition, each of vertical supports 24 may beprovided with a pad 39 as shown in FIG. 1. Pad 39 is positioned betweenvertical support 24 and wall 12, resisting vertical and horizontalmovement and aiding in the proper positioning of vertical support 24. onwall 12.

The manner of attaching loop 18 to wall 12 will vary depending uponwhether the wall is a masonry wall or wooden wall, and depending uponthe height at which attachment is required. Referring to FIG. 2, wall12, as illustrated, is a masonry wall and loop 18 is being secured partway up wall 12. Referring to FIG. 3, this is done by boring a hole 34through wall 12. Loop 18 is then extended through hole 34. A bracingmember 36 is inserted through loop 18 to prevent it from being pulledthrough hole 34. Pin 20, which is the form of attachment memberillustrated, then connects scaffolding bracket 16 to loop 18. Referringto FIG. 4, wall 12, as illustrated, is a wooden wall and loop 18 isbeing secured at the top of wall 12. Referring to FIG. 5, strapping 14is positioned on top of wall 12 and nails 38 are driven throughstrapping 14 into wall 12 to hold strapping 14 in place. Depending uponthe weight associated with the installation, it may be advisable toposition a board 40 over strapping 14 and drive nails 38 through board40 into wall 12. The purpose of board 40 is to distribute the forceholding strapping 14 in place and reduce point loading on strapping 14where nails 38 penetrate. A combination of these two approaches may alsobe used.

Advantages:

The method described above is simple, effective and relativelyinexpensive. When the installation is taken down, length of strapping 14is disposed of. This may be accomplished by cutting strapping 14 andremoving it. Where space is of concern, the use of length of strapping14 to anchor scaffolding requires much less space than other scaffoldinganchoring systems.

Variations:

It will be appreciated that length of strapping need not be formed intoa loop. Referring to FIG. 6, there is illustrated a clamp 30 which couldbe used to clamp length of strapping 14 to scaffolding bracket 16. Thestrapping may also have a loop at one end or both ends. It will also beappreciated that other forms of attachment member may be employed thathave sufficient load rating for supporting scaffolding. Referring toFIG. 7, there is illustrated a karabiner 32, which could be used, as analternative to pin 20, to attach to loop 18. An extension of theterminus of the scaffolding bracket provides a remote end 50.

In this patent document, the word “comprising” is used in itsnon-limiting sense to mean that items following the word are included,but items not specifically mentioned are not excluded. A reference to anelement by the indefinite article “a” does not exclude the possibilitythat more than one of the element is present, unless the context clearlyrequires that there be one and only one of the elements.

It will be apparent to one skilled in the art that modifications may bemade to the illustrated embodiments without departing from scope of theClaims. For example, any resilient material of sufficient tensilestrength to support scaffolding, including, for example but not limitedto climbing rope, or Kevlar™ webbing could be employed. Similarly, thestrapping could extend much further along the length of the scaffoldingbracket than is shown in the Figures, in other words, not being locatedproximate the terminus. Additionally, the strapping could be affixed toa remote end.

1. A method of suspending scaffolding brackets, comprising: securinglengths of a resilient material to a structure, the lengths of resilientmaterial having a load rating sufficient to support the scaffoldingbrackets to be suspended; attaching each of the scaffolding brackets toone of the lengths of resilient material.
 2. The method of claim 1,including a step of forming each of the lengths of resilient materialinto a loop and attaching the scaffolding brackets to the loop byinserting an attachment member through the loop.
 3. The method of claim2, the step of securing lengths of resilient material to a structureinvolving inserting the loop through an opening and inserting a bracingmember into the loop to prevent the loop from being pulled back throughthe opening.
 4. The method of claim 1, the step of securing lengths ofresilient material to a structure involving driving fasteners throughthe resilient material.
 5. The method of claim 1, the step of securinglengths of resilient material to a structure involving clamping theresilient material to the structure.
 6. The method of claim 2, theattachment member inserted into the loop being one of a pin or akarabiner.
 7. The method of claim 1, the step of attaching each of thescaffolding brackets to one of the lengths of resilient material beingaccomplished with clamps.
 8. The method of claim 2, the loop ofresilient material being inserted into a remote end of a verticalsupport.
 9. The method of claim 8, the vertical support having a taperedtop opening to provide access for inserting attachment member throughthe loop.
 10. In combination: scaffolding brackets; attachment members;lengths of resilient material formed in loops and secured to astructure; each of the scaffolding brackets being suspended by thelengths of resilient material from the structure by inserting theattachment member through one of the loops.
 11. The combination of claim10, wherein the loop is inserted through an opening in the structure anda bracing member is inserted into the loop to prevent the loop frombeing pulled back through the opening.
 12. The combination of claim 10,wherein the lengths of resilient material are secured to the structureby driving fasteners through the resilient material.
 13. The combinationof claim 10, wherein the lengths of resilient material are secured tothe structure by clamps.
 14. The combination of claim 10, wherein theattachment member inserted into the loop is one of a pin or a karabiner.15. The combination of claim 14, the loop of resilient material beinginserted into a remote end of a vertical support.
 16. The combination ofclaim 15, the vertical support having a tapered top opening to provideaccess for inserting attachment member through the loop.
 17. Thecombination of claim 10 wherein the resilient material is strapping. 18.A combination for use as an anchoring assembly for a scaffoldingbracket, comprising a length of resilient material and an attachmentmember, wherein the combination has a load rating sufficient to supportscaffolding.
 19. The combination of claim 18 wherein the resilientmaterial is strapping.
 20. The combination of claim 19 wherein at leasta portion of the length of the strapping is a loop.
 21. The combinationof claim 18 wherein the attachment member is a pin.
 22. The combinationof claim 21 further comprising a cotter pin for insertion into the pin.